Grand Chute envelope factory to shut down

Cenveo in Grand Chute as seen on Wednesday, April 9, 2014. (WLUK/Chris Bourassa)

0shares

GRAND CHUTE - Cenveo Corporation announced Wednesday it will close the former National Envelope plant in Grand Chute.

All 150 people who work at the plant will soon be without a job.

It looked like National Envelope was out of the woods when Connecticut-based Cenveo bought it last September.

"We were aware that there were problems before. I believe back in June they had filed bankruptcy and they were able to secure financing. So we thought we were good," said Outagamie County Board Supervisor Tanya Rabec.

However, the Grand Chute building itself is owned by a company called Spirit Leasing out of Arizona. Cenveo told FOX 11 it could not come to a lease deal with Spirit, so it needs to close.

Cenveo released this statement: "It's a difficult decision and a tough day for those impacted. We don't take these things lightly but the landlord put us in a difficult situation."

The company also said this is not a reflection on the employees.

We reached out to Spirit Leasing for comment, but did not hear back.

Now locally the concern turns to those who will lose their jobs.

"It's going to be very difficult for them to realize their job is suddenly gone and who are they? And how are they going to recover?" said Rabec.

"This is something that is not good news for these workers and their families from National Envelope, but we wanna be as supportive and offer as much help as we can," said Outagamie County Executive Tom Nelson.

Area leaders told us they've begun pulling together resources to help relocate those employees.

"Engage our community partners: the Department of Workforce Development, the job centers, the techs, everything we can to wrap these people with as much support as resources as possible," said Rabec.

The closure comes two weeks after Saputo Cheese announced it would close its New London plant, leaving nearly 70 people jobless.

Some told us these closures are a wakeup call the economy has not fully recovered.

"This is an important reminder that the community has to work hard to sustain and attract jobs," said Larry Burkhardt, the Chief Economic Development Officer of the Fox Cities Partnership.

Employees of the former National Envelope plant we spoke with declined interviews.